Gemotions

The flickering neon sign outside the diner cast long shadows across Ethan's table. He stirred his coffee, the bitter taste doing nothing to rouse him. He'd lost another job interview today, and the familiar sense of inadequacy was a lead weight. A ping from his phone: a friend request. It was Kevin, who’d made a sport of humiliating him during high school football tryouts.

He stared at the screen, a wave of heat rising from his chest to his face. He remembered the sting of every insult, the crushing feeling of being worthless. He clenched his jaw, the muscles in his neck protesting. The steam from his coffee swirled in front of him, blurring his vision.